Introducing Feminist Frameworks

Introducing Feminist Frameworks is a two-course online badge program that provides a functional framework for advancing critical understandings of feminism, intersectionality, gender, and systems of oppression.

In an effort to provide opportunities for continued education, as well as personal and professional development, these courses offer students an in-depth examination of gender and gender-related topics. This series is ideal for those seeking to advance their learning beyond that which can typically be covered through introductory trainings and workshops on gender, diversity, and inclusion.

Students will engage with feminist theory and scholarship by women about social identities, power, privilege, and injustice to develop a more robust understanding of foundational concepts and practices for personal, political, and social change. Students may enroll in one or both courses.

A limited number of eligible CSU employees may also register for these non-credit courses with discounted tuition thanks to a sponsorship from the Women & Gender Collaborative and Commitment to Campus, in collaboration with CSU Online.

Introduction to Identity Basics

This course provides a conceptual overview of key concepts that are crucial for further understanding social identities, power dynamics, and gender-based oppression. Students will be introduced to theoretical frameworks related to oppression, sex and gender, intersectionality, privilege, and how social identities inform what we know.

Students will learn how to:

Identify common terms and language used to describe identity and power dynamics

Recognize how differences in social identities relate to differences in lived experiences

Relate concepts and theories to complex social and political systems

Women Supporting Other Women

This course introduces key themes related to how and why women often fail to effectively support other women, and offers strategies and insights for supporting women across multiple identities. Topics explored include challenges that may arise when working across differences, especially related to engaging in dialogue across differences, failing to center the experiences of women of color, and how internalized oppression undermines solidarity among women.

Students will learn how to:

Identify common failures that prevent women from effectively supporting other women.

Recognize how privilege, power, and internalized oppression hinder connections and solidarity among women.

Relate skills, strategies, and concepts within feminist theory to practices for how to support other women.